Emergency Management - Human Resource (HR) Requirements for Volunteers
Are organizations required to confirm health screenings for either licensed or non-licensed individuals who volunteer during a disaster?
Any examples are for illustrative purposes only.
^Licensed volunteers are practitioners (physicians, nurses, therapists, etc.) who can provide direct patient care, treatment, and services who by law and regulation are required to have a license to practice. Other licensed volunteers (electricians, plumbers, inspectors) may provide unique services to help rebuild or restore a hospital or community.
No. Organizations are not required to confirm health screenings for either licensed^ or non-licensed^^ individuals when offering volunteer services to an organization that has activated their emergency operations plan, unless required by state law or facility policy.
^Licensed volunteers are practitioners (physicians, nurses, therapists, etc.) who can provide direct patient care, treatment, and services who by law and regulation are required to have a license to practice. Other licensed volunteers (electricians, plumbers, inspectors) may provide unique services to help rebuild or restore a hospital or community.
^^Non-licensed volunteers are generally those individuals who are available to provide humanitarian relief or aid (local churches, community organizations) during an emergency or disaster incident. Volunteers are a key resource for increasing the community's response capacity. Some volunteers are affiliated with a voluntary or non-profit organization that provide unique roles during disasters, such as search and rescue, or conduct registrations, etc.
Manual:
Hospital and Hospital Clinics
Chapter:
Emergency Management EM
New or updated requirements last added: June 13, 2022.
New or updated requirements may be based on revisions to current accreditation requirements, regulatory changes, and/or an updated interpretation in response to industry changes. Substantive changes to accreditation requirements are also published in the Perspective Newsletter that is available to all Joint Commission accredited organizations.
Last reviewed by Standards Interpretation: June 13, 2022
Represents the most recent date that the FAQ was reviewed (e.g. annual review).
This page was last updated on June 13, 2022
with update notes of: Reflects new or updated requirements
Types of changes and an explanation of change type:
Editorial changes only: Format changes only. No changes to content. |
Review only, FAQ is current: Periodic review completed, no changes to content. |
Reflects new or updated requirements: Changes represent new or revised requirements.
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